1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tents and portable shelters and more particularly to tents having expandable work and living areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to the ever-increasing interest in camping and to the need for shelter structures that provide comfort as well as protection from the elements, the need has arisen for a tent structure which, at the option of the user, can be readily expanded to provide increased, yet fully protected, living and working areas.
Many existing tents and other type portable shelters do provide or can be modified to provide increased working areas by utilizing tarps, shelter flaps, or rain panels that can be attached -- permanently or temporarily -- adjacent the side or end wall openings of the main tent structure. Additionally, some tents have side or end walls that can be stretched out, or sometimes rolled up out of the way, to provide free access between the tent's interior and exterior areas. (A prior art tent typifying the foregoing is illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 3,800,814.) While most modifications to existing tent structures do result in additional flexibility, they also give insects and the elements free access to the tent's interior areas. And for those few designs which do allow a side wall to be temporarily replaced by insect netting, no provision is made to increase the tent's floor space or increase the user's exterior visibility. Additionally, many tent designs offer no flexibility whatsoever.